The funny thing about triathlon is that your weaknesses and your strengths can change depending on how you train. Running used to be my weakness. Now, cycling is my weakness. Why? I joined Flying Feet Running Club and have spent the last two years working consistently on my running.
Just like with anything in life, the more consistently you run, the faster your pace will become. In order to improve your running, you need to follow a training plan that focuses on shorter runs, quality runs and long runs. Being consistent in the time we run will naturally improve both pace and distance covered over a time period.
Shorter, Easy Runs – Runs that last between 35-50 minutes a couple times per week
Long Runs – Runs that last between 70-120 minutes.
Quality Runs – This is where we work on something specific like lactic threshold, sprints, pacing and running with a pack.
Pick one day in your week to run a quality run. Then, run a quality run on that day every week. Some of these may become your favorites. Others, well, at least they’ll help your running.
Start each of these workouts with a 10-15 minute warmup run and end with a 10 minute cool down. Pick one of the workouts below as your main set for each quality run.
Hill Repeats. The idea behind hill repeats is to pick an interval, say 8 rounds. Run up the hill. Walk down. Repeat that loops 8 times. Or set your watch for 30 minutes and do hill repeats for time. If you’re an advanced runner, instead of walking down the hill, try lateral shuffles or running backwards.
Bleacher Runs. This can be done anywhere you have a series of steps at your disposal. High school track. Beach. Museum. You get the point. High school track is my favorite because there are two sets of bleachers and multiple rows on each. Alternate running up one flight, down the next until you’ve crossed the entire set of bleachers. Then, run around the track to the other set, do the same again. Run back to the first set of bleacher s and start over. This can be intense, so if you’re a beginner just aim for completing one set and work your way up.
Tabata Sprints. The typical workout consists of 20 seconds of high activity, in this case running, followed by 10 seconds of recovery, run as slow as possible. Repeat this cycle for a total of four minutes (8 rounds). If you cross train, this cycle works for any activity.
Fartleks. Fartlek is Swedish for “speed play”. This is your license to act like a kid again. Head out on your run, sight something in the distance like a mailbox, a sign, or the top of the hill. Run as fast as you can to that object. Then, slow down to an easy pace to recover. When you’re recovery time is nearing its end, sight for the next object. Continue this for the duration of your run.
Another alternative to this is a buddy system track workout. Stand on the track, back to back. One person should have an object in their hand to use as a baton. The person with the object takes off running while the other person walks. When they meet, they pass the “baton” and the runner begins walking and vice versa. This can be a fun family competition too.
Run using the Galloway method. Pick an interval you can sustain for the duration of the distance/time you plan to train that day. This can be 30secs run/2 min walk, 2min run/1min walk, 5 min run/1min walk.
Specific Distance Repeats at Specific Pace. Pick a Distance and a pace from a pace chart. For example, 8 X 200m repeats with 100m recovery at 10K pace.
